Culture & Style
The Carlton Cannes Connection: Diamond Heists and Iconic Cannes Festival Moments
By Grant Mobley + Jane Asher. May 13, 2025.
From an infamous heist at the Carlton Cannes to a flashy moment from Sharon Stone.
Italian actress Sophia Loren, President Of The Jury Of The Twentieth Film Festival On The Roof Of The Palais Des Festivals In Cannes On May 6th, 1966. (Getty Images)
Yes, Cannes Film Festival celebrates triumphs in filmmaking but, really, we’re here for the red carpet diamonds. From Kate Moss’s antique diamond earrings in 1997 to Elizabeth Taylor’s famous 1957 tiara, the glamorous moments are truly unforgettable. So are the audacious diamond heists in Cannes, particularly those linked to the Carlton Cannes.
Ahead, relive the highs and lows of the iconic Cannes Film Festival, from the thrilling and scandalous to the glitzy and glamorous.
Meet the Expert
- Grant Mobley is the Jewelry & Watch Editor of Only Natural Diamonds
- He is a GIA Graduate Diamonds Graduate
- He has over 17 years of jewelry industry experience, starting with growing up in his family’s retail jewelry stores
The Infamous Diamond Heist at the Carlton Cannes
The 2013 Carlton Cannes diamond heist took place at the Carlton Intercontinental Hotel, an iconic spot along the Mediterranean that has played a part in Côte d’Azur history for over a century. During a diamond exhibition hosted by billionaire Lev Leviev, a lone thief made off with $136 million in diamonds and jewelry in what remains one of the most audacious jewelry heists in history.
Early that morning, before the salon opened to the public, the thief entered the Carlton Cannes—likely through unlocked glass doors that opened onto the street. Inside, two bags filled with diamonds had yet to be placed in the display cases. Without confrontation or gunfire, the thief seized both bags and escaped through a window. As he leapt out, he tripped, scattering some diamonds onto the street—yet he still got away. Despite being one of the most valuable jewel thefts of all time, neither the thief nor the diamonds were ever recovered.
A hotel like the Carlton Cannes is synonymous with glamour, and with that comes risk. The hotel has hosted private jewelry exhibitions, VIP trunk shows, and countless red carpet patrons draped in diamonds. But its high-profile presence has also attracted international jewel thieves.
A Legacy of Glamour and Crime at the Carlton Cannes Hotel
Two of the highest-value diamond heists in real life have coincidentally taken place at the Carlton Cannes Hotel. The hotel’s legacy even inspired fiction. The Carlton Cannes served as the setting for Alfred Hitchcock’s To Catch a Thief, starring Cary Grant and Grace Kelly, a film that romanticized diamond theft on the French Riviera.
In 1994, the jewelry store at the Carlton Cannes was stormed by masked men armed with machine guns who made off with $77 million in diamonds. Luckily, no one was hurt as it was found out later that their machine guns were loaded with harmless blanks. The thieves were never caught, and the diamonds were never recovered.
The 2013 heist at the Carlton Cannes, which French authorities called “absolutely incredible,” raised suspicion that it was perpetrated by the notorious jewel thief gang dubbed “The Pink Panthers.” Just days earlier, two separate prison breakouts freed three key members of the gang, which authorities estimate has stolen more than $400 million in jewels over the past two decades.
Other Iconic Cannes Diamond Moments
The heists at the Carlton Cannes aren’t the only thrilling moments to come out of the Cannes Film Festival over the years. Below, a look back at some of the most iconic—and downright shocking—celebrity diamond looks to ever hit the Croisette.
Cara Delevingne’s Chopard Jewels
Cara Delevingne attended The Great Gatsby premiere during the 2013 Opening Ceremony looking as glamorous as ever. The model and actress wore a Burberry Prorsum lace gown with a suite of Chopard jewels. Delevingne chose a floral diamond cocktail ring with chandelier earrings and a bedazzled diamond necklace.
The next day, ironically, during the premiere of Sofia Coppola’s The Bling Ring, the items were stolen from the room of a Chopard employee at the Hotel Novotel. The thief made it out with over $1.3 million worth of jewels.
Kate Moss’s Antique Earrings
Kate Moss surprised us all when she stepped out onto the world’s most glamorous red carpet in a chic and understated Narciso Rodriguez shift dress and a pair of major antique diamond earrings from her own collection. It was Moss’s first time at the film festival, and at 23 years old, she most certainly left a lasting impression on the public. She told Vogue the same year, “Jewelry is eternal. It never goes out of fashion. It will always be there.”
Sharon Stone Get Flashy
Sharon Stone famously flashed her bedazzled hot pants to the paparazzi at the 1995 premiere of Unzipped, but her eye-popping Valentino outfit wasn’t the only thing that caught the eye. Her statement diamond necklace and matching earrings were just as sparkly as her ensemble.
Elizabeth Taylor and the Mike Todd Tiara
The queen of a red carpet diamond, Elizabeth Taylor, wore so many incredible pieces at Cannes, most notably her diamond tiara, a gift from her third husband Mike Todd. According to Christie’s, who auctioned the tiara in 2011, it’s designed as nine old mine-cut diamond scrolls with larger old mine-cut diamond terminals, spaced by old mine-cut diamond latticework motifs, mounted in platinum and gold, circa 1880. “When Mike gave me this jewel, he said to me: ‘You are my queen, and I think you should have a tiara,’” Taylor said in her book My Love Affair with Jewelry.
Elizabeth Taylor and the Krupp Diamond
In 1987, she came back to Cannes wearing even more dazzling diamonds, including the famous Krupp Diamond engagement ring from Richard Burton, renamed the Elizabeth Taylor Diamond after her death. She paired it with the King Farouk Bracelet, an Art Deco Egyptian Revival bracelet from Harry Winston that featured hieroglyphic motifs. The earrings were another gift from her third husband, Mike Todd.
